


Better Date Than Never

by thelonebamf



Series: Foxhound High [3]
Category: Metal Gear
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Comedy of Errors, High School AU, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, teenage boys doin stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-05
Updated: 2017-01-05
Packaged: 2018-09-14 23:59:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9210902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelonebamf/pseuds/thelonebamf
Summary: This was meant to be a Christmas fic... then sort of New Year's fic... and... well it's shamefully late, but I hope you still enjoy it. Many thanks to mightyscrub and metalzekesolid for helpin' me out with this. Y'all are all diamonds.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [brittitittitti](https://archiveofourown.org/users/brittitittitti/gifts).



Hal stood in front of the mirror, checking his reflection for the eighth time. He ran a shaky hand over his hair, trying with little luck to get it into any kind of order. As always, it continued to rebel.

 

It wasn’t that he thought Dave was likely to comment on his appearance- actually to Hal’s astonishment, Dave seemed to _like_ the way he looked- but Hal had still seen fit to make an effort, pulling on the polo shirt and dress shoes his step-mother had insisted on buying him. Dave always had this sort of effortless, dashing charm about him. The least Hal could do was try to make himself presentable.

 

After all, tonight was going to be _special._

 

Or at least, Hal thought it might be. He and Dave hadn’t exactly sat down and hammered out all the details, but they had reservations at one of the town’s nicer restaurants - one of the only places open on Christmas Eve- and Dave had mentioned something about a drive after. And well... it was _Christmas_. Hal figured he couldn’t be entirely wrong that tonight would be the night the two of them finally…

 

“Hal!”

 

“Gk… uh y-yes?”

 

“We’re heading out now. You sure you don’t want to come? You’re disappointing your grandparents, you know!”

 

Hal winced, guilt creeping easily into his gut, even though the elderly couple his step-mother was speaking of had only known him these last two years. Most of their interactions had consisted of them scrutinizing his appearance and finding fault with his shyness and awkward fidgeting. They had nothing but praise and adoration for Emma, though- their actual granddaughter, and she relished being spoiled during their visits.

 

“No, that’s okay. I um… I promised… the guys I would join them tonight. But give g-grandmother and grandfather my regards.” Hal swallowed hard and fussed with the collar of his shirt again.

 

“Well…”

 

Hal could hear the hesitation in her voice, and could all but see her hovering at the bottom of the stairs, deciding whether or not to come up and convince him to join them, but soon his father- a little more distant, called her away.

 

“You have a good night then, Hal. Stay out of trouble.”

 

He sighed. “I always do.”

 

There were still another ten or fifteen minutes until Dave was meant to show up, and standing in front of the mirror in his bedroom was only making Hal anxious.

 

Hal answered the door, hair still askew, to see Dave waiting with a smile. The uneasiness that had been threatening to keep him shut inside the house for another night melted away.

 

“Hey.”

 

“H-hi,” Hal stammered, though he was gratified to see that Dave had dressed for the occasion as well. “Looking good, Dave.”

 

“Heh, you too.”

 

Hal opened his mouth to disagree, but found himself quickly caught up in a quick kiss that bore no argument.

 

“Come on, don’t want to be late.”

 

* * *

 

 

The restaurant was nicer than any one Hal had ever been to. He didn’t exactly go out for much beyond the usual mainstays of pizza or burgers, but Dave had suggested this spot, quietly adding that he’d heard it was supposed to be “pretty good” and Hal was too touched to say no.

 

Of course, the fact that neither of them had ever visited this particular establishment meant that they were unprepared for just how upscale it was. And unfortunately, that presented certain challenges they hadn’t expected.

 

“I’m sorry, sir, but I’m afraid it is our policy-”

 

“Are you serious? We’ve had this reservation for weeks. And it’s Christmas!”

 

“Yes,” the host snapped at them, clearly ready for his shift to be over. “And as you can see we’re very busy tonight. We have a lot of guests waiting to be seated at their tables, guests who have chosen to abide by our dress code.”

 

“Dave, c’mon, it’s okay. Let’s just go.” Hal tugged at Dave’s elbow, worried about making a scene and drawing more attention to themselves. He was already nervous about the looks they’d been given, walking through the door together, especially as it became apparent no female companions would be joining them.

 

“Perhaps if you were to visit one of the neighboring shops and find a jacket and tie-”

 

“Nothing’s going to be open tonight,” Dave all but snarled, clearly fed up with the host’s bad attitude. “I can see a guy at the table in the corner wearing a plain button down.”

 

“And if you or your… companion were the owner of this establishment, you too might be welcome to come and dine however you please, but as you are _not_ -”

 

“Is there a problem, Brent?”

 

Hal looked up at the sound of a woman’s voice- a familiar one at that. Unfortunately his relief at seeing a friendly face was short lived as soon as he realized just how Dave had heard of this place to begin with.

 

“M-Ms. Sears…”

 

The host turned sharply to look at the elegantly dressed woman, standing only a few feet away with an easy grace that seemed at odds with the skeptical look on her face.

 

“They’re good boys, Brent.  Perhaps just this once…?” She patted him gently on the shoulder and for just a moment Hal thought she might actually convince the man to give them their table.

 

“I...I’m sorry. It’s just policy. And we’re very busy tonight so-”

 

“Of course. Well, you’ll excuse me then.”

 

Both Dave and Hal stood aside as she sauntered back to the bar, speaking both with the bartender and the man she was sharing a drink with. Hal paled as the man turned- Dave’s father. Though he’d only ever seen him in passing, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he looked even less impressed now than he had back in their living room.

 

Before he could wilt under the full power of the man’s one-eyed gaze, Hal felt a gentle tug at his wrist.

 

“Come on,” Dave urged, beckoning towards the door. “We’ll figure out something else.”

 

“Something else” mostly amounted to hovering a few paces away from the entrance, with Hal pulling his hoodie closer around him (freshly laundered, not that the snooty maitre’d had noticed) as Dave craned his neck to see if any other restaurants in the area were open. Maybe it would be a burger and fries kind of night after all.

 

“Hal, honey?”

 

Eva was standing just outside the doors, something soft and folded in her arms that she held out to him.

“We’re just heading out for the night, why don’t you take this?”

 

“Mama, I don’t think Hal wants to-”

 

“Th-thank you Ms. Sears. I appreciate it.” Hal smiled, taking the suit jacket from her and slipping it over his shoulders. “You went through a lot of trouble to get us a reservation,” he explained to Dave. “Shame to let it go to waste.”

 

There was little David could say to that, and with a wary smile he nodded. He held open the door and the two entered the restaurant for the second time that night.

 

* * *

 

The meal passed with blessedly little incident, aside from the fact that the restaurant had seen fit to fill their ‘Special Christmas Menu’ with gratuitous French, which neither of them spoke. No amount of garlic and butter would get Hal to eat snails, and though Dave proved more adventurous, he preferred not to do anything to make his date turn green.

 

Dessert finished and check paid, they made their way back to the car, Dave reaching out to take Hal’s hand, though he had to push the overlong cuff of his borrowed jacket several inches.

 

“Ready to head home?”

 

Hal inhaled deeply, holding the breath for a second as he considered carefully. It had been quite an eventful night, and the idea of heading back to Dave’s place held some appeal, if also some amount of uncertainty about what was to follow.

 

“M-Maybe not quite yet.” Dave’s hand was warm around his own and he squeezed his fingers gently. “It isn’t that late. We could… go for a drive? Somewhere private?”

 

“Sounds good.”

 

The drive was mostly quiet, both of them still too full from their meal to do much talking, but Hal fiddled with the dials of the radio until the sounds of jazzy Christmas carols gently overtook the silence.

 

“Somewhere quiet” turned out to be the lot just outside the park on the edge of town. Though the main gates were closed, they could just about see the edges of the lake, dark water sparkling in the moonlight. Dave reached an arm over, pulling Hal across his seat until his head was resting on his shoulder. Hal sighed as he settled in, making himself comfortable. 

 

“You smell weird,” Dave said, somewhat out of the blue, causing Hal to start. “Like… a pinecone.”

 

“What?” Hal pulled back into his own seat so quickly he hit his head against the window. “Ow.”

 

“It’s not bad!” Dave reached out a sympathetic hand to rub his fingers against Hal’s scalp. “Just. weird. I don’t know. Not the way you normally smell… smells more like…”

 

“It’s the jacket.” Hal wrinkled his nose, taking an experimental sniff. “You’re right. It does have a very distinct… odor.” This was a mood killer, wasn’t it? Dave could hardly be expected to make out with someone who smelled like his old man. Or an old man. Maybe this was just how old people smelled.

 

A quick rifling through the jacket’s pockets Hal found not two, but three tree-shaped air fresheners and seventeen breath mints bearing the logo of the restaurant they’d just left. He held the assorted items up to Dave in outstretched hands, but the other boy only shrugged and shook his head.

 

Normally, a late-night trip to the park was one of their favorite ways to spend time together. It had started almost by accident, when Hal mentioned a meteor shower happening that weekend, and found Dave at his door just before midnight, car ready with a blanket and thermos of something warm. Eventually it became a bit of a mainstay. The two of them could be away from the curious eyes of their classmates (and families, Hal thought, with a small lurch in his stomach) and though the two of them had no trouble with silence, it was nice to have something to look at just the same. They even had a table that Hal liked to think of as “theirs”, far enough away from the trees that they could sit on top of it, sneakers resting against the wood of the seat and watch the sky.

 

Tonight, though, only the moon was making itself known, a hazy glow behind swiftly moving clouds.

 

Hal couldn’t stop himself from turning the night’s events over in his mind, and as always he started to quantify each of them in turn.

 

_Got dressed up… more or less +10_

 

_Turned out to be less than adequate -30_

 

_Saved at the last minute +15_

 

_By Dave’s mom -50_

 

_Romantic (???) drive at the park +20_

 

_It’s kind of cold and I have that ‘new car smell’ -40_

 

All in all, things weren’t exactly adding up in a way that would necessarily inspire a night of passion.

 

“You ready to head back for the night?”

 

Dave was looking at him with that quiet smile of his, the one that always led Hal, without fail, to thinking that everything would be okay.

 

“Y-yeah.”

 

A single nod. The turn of a key.

 

The turn of a key.

 

_The turn of a key._

 

“...the hell?!”

 

Hal’s eyes widened as Dave fumbled with the keys over and over, only to elicit a dying wheeze from the car’s engine. After a few more failed tries the needle finally unstuck, finally falling to point soundly at the “E” on the dash.

 

“Damn. Damn! Stupid Eli. I told him to fill the car back up after he drove to god knows where. Should have known!” He slammed his hands on the steering wheel, exhaling sharply through his nose.

 

“Is there…” Hal turned nervously, looking over his shoulder into the back seat. “Spare tank or?”

 

“No. Fuck.” Dave threw his head back against the seat with a sigh. “Can’t even run the heater.”

 

Hal wondered for a moment if they might hole up in the back seat, coats spread over them as makeshift blankets in a half-romantic idea of keeping each other warm, but he could already feel a slight trembling in his legs. A foolhardy notion at best.

 

“It’s only a few miles back to town,” he offered. “We can make it.”

 

Dave looked back at him, a curious look on his face. “You’re not even angry about this, are you?”

 

“Accidents happen. We’ll be alright.”

 

_Got Dave to smile and kiss me +1000_

 

* * *

 

The walk back wasn’t too bad, aside from the cold. Most of the small town’s residents were long since settled into bed, resting up for a day of Christmas festivities beginning bright and early in the morning. Hal wrinkled his nose as he sniffed a bit, not looking forward to his step-mother’s next big party. He hoped Emma would like the videos he’d bought her, though.

 

“Penny for your thoughts? Or yen, if you prefer. What’s the going rate?” Dave squeezed his hand just a little, and for a few seconds Hal didn’t mind that he’d left his gloves at home.

 

“Ha ha,” he grimaced, but only received a shove in the shoulder. “Just thinking about E.E. She’s so excited about tomorrow. When you’re a kid, that’s when you get the good stuff, you know?”

 

“And socks.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“I always got socks as a kid. Not even funny ones. Just a six pack of white tube socks. Like my folks just wanted to put something else under the tree.”

 

“Doesn’t sound that bad. I could go for another pair of socks right now, honestly,” Hal chuckled. “I hope you get good stuff this year.”

 

“Yeah? Well what did _you_ get me?” Another squeeze.

 

“M-me?” Hal took a deep breath, teeth chattering as mist fogged his glasses. “Well, I w-wouldn’t want to spoil the sur-surprise....”

 

“Oh, well in that case,” Dave pulled back just a little, letting his hand rest on Hal’s back as the two of them maneuvered the bumpy terrain on the hill just before the main road. “Guess I’ll have to wait to unwrap my gift.”

 

“Heh, yeah guess so-- ow ow oof!”  

 

Things happened so quickly, Hal hardly had time to process that he’d fallen before Dave was at his side helping him up. He swiped at the streak of mud he could feel on his face as he tried to adjust his glasses, only smearing them in the process.

 

“You okay? Looks like there was an icy patch. Can you stand?”

 

“Yeah… of course. I’m fine. Have you seen my shoe?”

 

“Your shoe?” Dave squinted into the brush near them, pushing branches away as he helped Hal up. “What does it look like?”

“What does it…? You know. Black. Kinda shiny? Shaped like a shoe?”

 

Dave grumbled as he leaned further into the bushes, but the street lamps barely reached where they were standing. The backside of the underbrush was all but a lost cause. Nevertheless, Dave pushed the worst of the branches aside in an attempt to find Hal’s missing footwear.

 

“Stay put.”  


“No problem.” It wasn’t exactly comfortable, hopping on one foot in an attempt to keep from placing his sock on the frigid ground, but it beat the alternative.

 

“Any luck? It can’t have gone too far.” He suggested, slowly making his way to an obliging tree he could lean on.

 

“Not yet!” Dave called out, “But it’s kind of a drop so- hell!”

 

“Dave? Dave???” Hal hobbled around the tree, peering off into the dark where Dave had disappeared. “Dave!”

 

“I’m fine!”  Dave snapped, and sure enough he was soon making his way through the bushes. “Fine. Just… wet. There’s a creek bed down there. Couldn’t see it til it was too late.

  
“Oh geez, you’re soaked!” Hal exclaimed.

 

“Didn’t find the shoe, either.”

 

“That’s okay.” Hal gave a weak smile, and resigned himself to having to put up with a soggy sock for the rest of the night. He set his foot down at last, wincing as he did so.

 

“Something the matter?”

 

“No, no it’s okay. I just…” He tried again, this time the ache was more acute. “I think I twisted my ankle.”

 

“You’re kidding.” Dave was absolutely still aside from the droplets of water falling from the hem of his coat.

 

“Afraid not.”

 

“Hal…” he began, but stopped short. The silence was worrying, but after a few seconds Dave broke out into a full on laugh, shaking his head. “This could only happen to us, huh?”

 

Without another word Dave started taking of his coat, wringing it out on the ground before tying it around his waist. He walked up to Hal, who tried not to be too obvious about staring at Dave’s shirt, stuck tight against his chest.

 

“Come on then,” Dave beckoned. “Let’s get going before it gets any later.”

 

“Huh?” Hal took a few unsteady steps, but Dave shook his head.

 

“With your ankle like that, you’ll just slow us down. C’mon, get on.”

 

Hal found himself practically lifted onto Dave’s back without any trouble at all, and despite initial misgivings he eventually wrapped his arms around his shoulders so they could set back on the path towards home.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

Two hours later, Hal was back in his room, sheepishly shucking off his remaining shoe, soon followed by his socks and pants. If he’d had any energy left at all he might have run himself a bath, but a quick shower was all he could manage. At least he could feel his toes again.

 

He lay gracelessly on top of his blankets, offending ankle peeking out of the worn flannel pants he’d pulled on and wondered if Dave was getting ready for bed himself. They’d made it back to his place more quickly than expected, which was just as well since Dave had started sneezing as soon as they made it inside. “Big Mama” had surprised them both by coming to the door and insisted on him having a cup of tea and a hot bath, not necessarily in that order.

 

She’d taken one look at Hal, red cheeked, tendrils of nearly frozen hair stuck to his dirty face, hovering unsteadily as he resisted putting weight on his ankle.

 

“Seems like you boys had quite a night,” she said with a smile that blessedly never gave way to laughter.

 

“Why don’t I get John to take you home?”

 

The ride had been more than a little uncomfortable, and Hal came to realize that pockets were not the only place Mr. Sears enjoyed cramming tiny scented trees. He sniffed once or twice, but quashed the urge once he saw the man raise an eyebrow in his direction.

 

“Don’t care much for those fancy spots myself,” he said, shocking Hal who had expected the trip to pass in complete silence. “But Eva said we should go out. Said we should do something nice for a change. Special.”

 

“O-oh?” Hal stammered, unsure of what to say. “That sounds…”

“Still didn’t care much for it,” he soldiered on, “But you try to do something nice for the people you care about, I guess.”

 

Hal closed his mouth and nodded.

 

“After all, it’s Christmas.”

* * *

* * *

 

 

The clock on Hal’s bedside table beamed a cheery “9:32” at him, almost taunting him, egging him on.

 

_“It’s not that late! There’s still time! You could still go out! Head to a party! I’m almost certain no one would mind!”_

 

He rolled over, turning away from it until he was flat on his back, the planets and stars still stuck to his ceiling greeting him.

 

It had been a quiet couple of days (and nights, for that matter). There had only been one call, mid-afternoon on Christmas Day.

 

“Hal?”

 

“D-Dave. Hi.”

 

“Hey, sorry. Don’t have a lot of time. Dad is dragging us to see our grandmother, guess it’s going to be a couple of days. He’s making a really big deal out of it so-”

 

“Oh. Yeah. That’s fine, of course.”

 

“Just wanted to call and… Well, last night really was a mess, wasn’t it.”

 

“I’ll say.”

 

“Ankle okay?”

 

“Yeah, already a lot better.”

 

“Good. Um. I guess. I just wanted to say… this...whole… dating… date thing. I’m… I’m not sure it’s for me.”

 

“Oh. Oh right. Yeah. I get it.” Hal’s knuckles tightened around the receiver. “We… we gave it a go though, right?”

 

“Yeah, and I guess we’ve got a story now, at least.” Dave laughed, but it quickly turned to a rumbling cough.

 

“Sure.”

 

“Anyways. I uh, just wanted to call. Wish you a Merry Christmas.”

 

“Right. Yeah. Me-Merry Christmas, Dave.”

 

“See ya later. I-”

 

The line went silent, and Hal didn’t have the energy to dial back. It was just as well that Dave was headed out of town for a while, no chance of embarrassing accidental encounters.

 

Not that it mattered. If not for the change in pajamas (E.E. had given him blue ones dotted with tiny robots) one might be forgiven for thinking he hadn’t moved from his bed in days.

 

Maybe he had turned out to be more trouble that he was worth. Or maybe that night had proven to Dave that Hal wasn’t ‘serious’ boyfriend material. Or maybe (and this was the possibility that kept him awake at night) Dave had been counting on the same thing he had- and when it didn’t happen, he’d thought better of their situation entirely.

 

Whatever the reason, at least Dave had done him the favor of placing the call while there were still a few weeks til school began again. Hopefully by then Hal could scrape himself up into some semblance of a productive student, if nothing else.

 

For tonight at least, he could grovel in self-pity undisturbed. His father and step-mother had gone to some out of town party being thrown by a workmate or politician or someone very important. Julie hadn’t stopped talking about it for a week, but Hal was still hazy on the details. He’d seen E.E. off a few hours before. She’d been bouncing up and down at the prospect of going to her very first “up all night” sleepover. Though she had told Hal he could come if he promised not to do anything to embarrass her, but he assured her that her friends wouldn’t want a dorky boy hanging around. In the end she’d given him a kiss on the cheek and agreed.

 

The VCR finished rewinding the tape inside and spat it out, unwatched. But just as Hal was reaching out to turn the television off he heard a sound downstairs. Rubbing the worst of the scum from his eyes he went to investigate.

 

“Dave?”

 

“Oh. Good. You’re here. Wasn’t sure when I didn’t see the car in the drive.”

 

“Everyone is out til tomorrow. It’s uh. Just me.”

“Perfect.”

 

He held up the box he’d been carrying, its contents clearly laden with pepperoni and extra cheese, and Hal’s stomach, mostly ignored the last few days gave a decisive growl.

 

Without waiting for an invitation, Dave stepped inside, kicking away the ice still clinging to his sneakers. Hal closed the door, staring.

 

“You came back.”

 

Dave set the pizza down on the coffee table and shot Hal a strange look as he flipped it open, wasting no time in grabbing a slice.

 

“Well. Yeah. It was just a couple of days, mostly because of the drive. I tell you, watching the old man around that woman, it sure is something.” He chuckled, taking a bite. “If you thought Mama was a uh- forceful personality, you should meet my grandma Joy.” He grinned, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

 

“I see.”

 

“What are you standing around for? Come sit and eat with me.”

 

“Right. Sorry. I just thought-”

 

“Hal?”

 

“I didn’t think you were going to be coming around anymore.”

 

“Wh-”

 

“On the phone, You said you didn’t think it was working out.”

 

“Oh. Oh god, no. No I meant the whole…” Dave gestured quickly in the air, “stuffy… dress code, “night on the town” sort of nonsense. Oh. And you’ve been at home this whole time thinking- Hal. No. I’m so sorry.” In one swift stride he was across the room, and wrapped Hal up in his arms.

 

“We can even do the fancy stuff if you want, I’m just happy being with you, Hal. Honestly. Whatever you want.”

 

“This-” Hal started, cautiously returning the embrace. “This is good.”

 

* * *

 

Eyes quickly giving up their fight to stay open, Hal took one last glance at the bright red numbers on his bedside table. 12:23. Happy New Year.

 

He let his head fall lax against the pillow, too spent to move, but smiled faintly as he felt the soft flannel of his comforter pulled up over his shoulders, soft kisses at the base of his neck. He settled in against Dave’s chest, still hot and faintly wet with sweat, but in a way that was somehow comforting. Even with his eyes closed, glasses safe on the windowsill, he could imagine how the two of them looked. Peaceful, probably. Tired. Bathed in the blue light of the television’s blank screen.

 

“Sorry we missed the fireworks,” he yawned, heading quickly towards blissful unconsciousness.

 

Dave answered with another kiss, lingering just slightly so his lips brushed against Hal’s skin as he spoke.

 

“I don’t think we missed anything.”

  


**Author's Note:**

> This was meant to be a Christmas fic... then sort of New Year's fic... and... well it's shamefully late, but I hope you still enjoy it. Many thanks to mightyscrub and metalzekesolid for helpin' me out with this. Y'all are all diamonds.


End file.
